The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1887-02-18
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UPPER M.ARLBOROU G. H:
Duty Of the Hour.

lively interest IN everything which bears
upon the nation as Il whole. This has
become notably more 50 since the flood
tide Of Centralism set in at the surrender
at Appomattox {. II. SILL we Ind
more in all sections of our land eyinclng
their patriotism in terderly fostering
everything connected with the veal Of
their State and Country. This is rot only
CONN endable, but in very truth lays at
the foundato n of the true interests Of all
communities For as the various mem
bers of our cunnin.ly and my>teriously
formed bodies 90 to make up the COM
plex anatomy of wonderful whole, so
the various smaller communities OF neigh
borhoods, counties and State, in their az
gregated strength, swell the power of
united country. Every man therefore
best serves the interests of the whole, best
discharges the functions Of citizenship,
by careful attention to the minuted du-
ties which cluster around his Individual
path in mis- own neighborhood' Thus
we think it obvious that the man among
us who puts out all his endeavours to ad-
vance the interests of Prince Georges
County is the truest Marylander and the
best citizen of the republic. What then
is the duty of the hour to US as Prince
Georcians How shall we best quit our
selves like men as tested by the high
standard of genuine manliness and true
patriotism erected for us in Maryland =
We must ike the old Maryland Line
looking the enemy in the face, look facts
in the face. In 1860 the relative value
of land in the adjoining Counties Of Prince
Georges and Montgomery was Learly as
it is now, only we must reverse the par
ties to the ratio Then the poor land
and the poorer people OF our sister
county were to no small extent the
laughing stock Of the whole common
y
said of Montgomery county that 1t was
a most remarkable county, in that 1t sent
the tallest men and the biggest fools to
Annapolis and the whole county was yex-
ing the curiosity Of the whole state to
know how, with an acreage so poor
it fed so many people. Whatever of truth
there was in this remark at the time.
there is no such taunt indulgedat the ex
pense of Montgomery County now. On
the contrary we gravely doubt if any
county since 1865 has improved more
rapidly in the whole State. In twenty
years from to day. if not in less time,
with the same ratio of improvement OBJ
served she will close up the Century in
such wise as to make the Bowes, the
Davises, the Bradleys, the Hallowells,
the Blairs, the Lees aud hundreds Of
others thankful their lot has been cast in
county where neither Cotton nor To-
bacco is King. Is the disparity OF I'M
provement 50 sad, so CALLING to the true
Prince Georgian, the outcome Of an &C
cident ? We answer both Yes and No.
Yes. it is the result measurably OF the
fact that in Prince Georges 50 many
persons were made poor by the emanclpa-
ton of their slaves. Had the emancipa-
ton been gradual the violence done our
social system and the impoverishmcnt OF
our people would have been far less, In
this connection. it is submitted as 4
thought well fitted to occupy the atten-
ton in some measure Of our Senators and
Representatives as to whether all the
slave-holding States which failed to place
themselves in antagonism to the General
Government from 1SG1-G5 by solemn
act of Legislature or Convention, cuiml-
mating in secession, are not III equity and
conscience fully entitled to recover at
least $500 for each slave freed by the T.
Emancipation Act. This must become an
important question at an early day, and
in its solution it Is hoped will cqultably
call out from the Treasury some of the
surplus money sought fer by those fancy
pension bills in favor of amateur soldiers
and their relations.
But if Prince Georges was terribly
crippled by the emancipation Of her slaves
in 1865, over twenty years ago, how comes
that she has Dot in some measure rlshted
up since This is not matter Of acct
dent in any sense. 1t results ir9m the
fact that all through and through her
borders. men have allowed themselves to
be wheedled into the necessity OF mort
gage after mortgage under the Circean
SMELL of the narcotic legend that = Io6ac-
60 Is KIing." Yes; Tobacco Is King
but the men who have grown It. for the
most part in Southern Maryland, during
the past % years and more, have become
slaves. If this be not 50 why Is 1t that
the Baltimore Money-Princes have some
Of them thousands upon thousands OF
dollars in mortgages on the soil which
was owned by class Of men who owed
no man anything but to love him and to
be hospitable to him? In the canebrake
country Of Alabama, the time was when the
people were caught by the same delusion
of the safety of one crop alone. and you
could hear it on the streets Of Mobile
and Montgomery that Cotton was Ming.
There the spell has been broken and re-
turning prosperity is beginning to glad
den every branch Of industry No, my
dear friend in Prince Georges, Tobacco
is not King What then would You have
HE do? Try and press upon Congress
the equity of paying for the slaves freed.